Paint can sealer



June 12, 1951 H. D. KORS 2,556,195

PAINT CAN SEALER Filed June 15, 1946 Patented June 12, 1951 UlTED STATES 1r seine 'This invention relates to a new and improved paint can sealer.

When a fresh can of paint is opened and only a little is used,- it makes no difference how tightly the lid is replaced a skin or scum foriris on the top of the paint, because of the air trapped in the can. This means a wasting of paint because this skin and whatever paint adheres to it must be thrown away. Furthermore, no matter howc'arefully this skin is removed some small solid particles are left invariably and are a nuisance to the painter. Many an otherwise good paint job has been marred in this way and many cans of paint have been thrown away because of this trouble. straining is sometimes resorted to as a remedy but this is quite a job and also means a loss of paint and the spoiling of a piece of screen, because it must be thrown away after one such use. It is therefore the principal object of my invention to provide a paint can sealer in the form of a paper disc that fits snugly inside the can and is supported directly on top of the paint on a suitable float, thus preventing the formation of the skin or scum on the paint, no matter how much or how little of the paint in the can has been used.

A further object is to provide the paper sealing discs with a center hole adapted to receive :with a tight fit the center knob of a wooden float disc, thus facilitating handling the paper disc in the application to the surface of the paint and later also in the removal of the paper disc from the can.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a section through a paint can showing a sealer in use therein made in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the paper disc forming a part of the sealer, and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the handled float forming the other part of the sealer.

The same reference numerals are applied to corresponding parts in these views.

The reference numeral 4 designates a paint can from which some of the paint has been used leaving an air space 5 above the remaining paint 6. A friction fit lid is indicated in dotted lines at 1 and may or may not be used when the sealer, indicated at 'B, is used, because the lid no longer is fie Claims. (Clz- 220-'-93) really needed beyond protecting the can against degree of moisture absorption and large enough in diameter to fit closely inside the can 4 so as to exclude air from access to the surface of the paint 6 on which the paper disc 9 rests, the disc being supported on a float H] consisting of a disc of thin two-ply plywood ll having a handle or knob 12 in the center thereof which is entered with a close fit through a center hole IS in the paper disc 9.

I In operation, the paper disc 9 rests on top of the float l0 and is thereby supported on the surface of the paint to exclude air from access to the paint so that no skin or scum can form. ,The theory I have in regard to the novel operation'of this paper disc 9 is that it absorbs only a small amount of the paint and oil at the surface and. that dries in the pores of the paper forming, therefore, a thin skin within the thickness of the paper throughly sealing the pores, so that no skin can form at the surface of the paint itself, and, hence, when the sealer 8 is subsequently removed to permit using the paint there will therefore be no bothersome skin or skin particles to remove and hence no wasting of time and paint, and nothing to interfere with doing a good paint job. The paint is kept in perfect condition. The same paper disc 9 can be used over again if it is replaced in the same can within an hour or so of its removal. The Wooden float can be used indefinitely if kept reasonably clean. The handle or knob 12 makes it easy to withdraw the sealer and replace it. Care must be taken in entering the sealer to avoid dipping one edge of the paper 9 into the paint, because only the bottom of this disc should be wetted by the paint. The paper should be reasonably stiff and flat to rest neatly on top of the paint. The paper '9, while stiff enough to straighten out inside the can, must be flexible enough to crowd past the rim M of the can. If desired, the paper may be waxed on top or oiled to provide a better sealing action and reduce the amount of paint and oil absorption. To insure the desired stiffness two plies of paper may be glued or cemented together.

It is believed the foregoing description conveys a good understanding of the objects and advantages of my invention. The appended claims have been drawn to cover all legitimate modifications and adaptations.

I claim:

1. A paint can sealer comprising a paint cover disc of a thin, flexible, and slightly absorbent sheet material, like paper, and which, being inexpensive, may be discarded after one or more uses and replaced, the disc being of a diameter to fit closely inside the conventional paint can, and a float disc of a relatively small diameter in relation to the cover disc, disposed under said 'cover disc for supporting said cover disc on the surface of the paint in the can, said float disc having an upwardly extending handle for lifting the float and cover discs out of the paint can and placing the same therein, said handle extending with a close fit through a substan tially central hole provided in the cover disc.

2. As an article of manufacture, a sealer disc of a thin, flexible, and slightly absorbent sheet A material, like paper, and which, being inexpensive, may be discarded after one or two uses and replaced, for use in a conventional paint can on the surface of the paint to absorb a small amount of paint, the drying of which in the pores of the absorbent sheet material will serve to seal the pores and exclude air from access to the paint and remove the dried paint that adheres to it from the can with the disc, the disc being of the same dimensions as the inside of the paint can.

3. As an article of manufacture, a slightly absorbent paper sealer disc for use in a conventional paint can on the surface of the paint to absorb a small amount of paint, the drying of which in the pores of the absorbent paper will serve to close the pores and exclude air from access to the paint and remove the dried paint that adheres to it from the can with the disc, the disc being of the same dimensions as the inside of the paint can, said paper being still enough to straighten out when past the inwardly projecting rim around the mouth of a can but flexible enough to permit crowding the disc through the smaller sized opening into the can.

4. The combination with a cylindrical container, of approximately the diameter of a conventional paint can, having a circular contracted mouth of a sealing disk of a thin, flexible, and slightly absorbent sheet material insertible within said container to form an air excluding seal for a body of liquid partly filling said container, said disc being of a diameter approximately equal to the internal diameter of said container and being sufliciently flexible to render it insertible through said contracted mouth, said disc having a hole provided therein, substantially at the center, through which a handle projects with a close fit, and a float disc element attached to said handle below and engaging the sealing disc, said float disc being substantially smaller in diameter than the sealing disc and the contracted mouth of said container.

HARRY D. KORS.

REFERENCES CITED Ihe following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 805,120 Crippen Nov. 21, 1905 1,818,924 Basmadjian Aug. 11, 1931 2,096,358 Gautier Oct. 19, 1937 2,167,619 Bainton Aug. 1, 1939 2,190,203 Barnard Feb. 13, 1940 2,307,508 Jayne 1.. ,1, Jan. 5, 1943 

